5884 Power Point Slides Nat

Research Methods 

Surveys were conducted May 4–15, 2007, among 1,526 adults nationwide, including 1,000 members of the general public and 626 parents of K-12 students, and among 101 public school administrators and 251 public school teachers. Oversamples were conducted among 226 California residents (for a total of 470 California residents) and among 200 adults where the survey was administered in Spanish (100 in California, 100 nationwide). The Spanish language samples were weighted to their proper proportions of the population in the main sample. At the 95% confidence level, the data’s margin of error is ±3.1 percentage points among all adults, and higher among smaller populations and subgroups.



Six focus groups were conducted in mid-to-late March 2007: two groups in Indianapolis, IN; two in Fremont, CA; and two in Alexandria, VA. One group each was conducted among public school administrators and voters who are not parents. Two groups each were conducted among public school teachers and parents with children in public school. In addition, seven in-depth interviews were conducted among leading education experts.

2 Confidential and Proprietary. Copyright © 2007 Educational Testing Service.

Summary of Key Points 

The public supports NCLB reauthorization, despite limited knowledge of it. The public is divided over NCLB, but many people simply

are uninformed. Support grows to a majority when NCLB is defined. Majorities support the underlying principle that federal funding should be tied to accountability requirements. A majority of adults support reauthorization with some changes. 

Teachers support reauthorization despite misgivings. Public school teachers and administrators are strongly negative toward NCLB. Nonetheless, teachers and administrators strongly support NCLB reauthorization with major changes: “better the devil you know.”



Standards, Accountability and Flexibility: In reauthorization, the

public, teachers, and administrators support high standards of accountability as well as greater flexibility. They emphasize finding solutions for poorly performing schools, not just identifying them. They also call for greater flexibility in assessing English-language learners.

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Grading School Quality

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Assessing the Nation’s Schools How well do you think our K-12 schools are working? Working well/need some changes but basically keep as is Need major changes/complete overhaul

53% 52%

45%

45%

50%

45%

52%

53% 50% 48%

45%

45%

56%

58%

58%

51%

51% 50% 48%

45% 42%

41% 41%

47%

Working well/ some changes 69% teachers

72% administrator 2001 2004 2005 2006 s2007

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

General Public

K-12 Parents 5

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Q.5b

Grades for the Nation’s Schools Remain at ‘C’ Spring 2007

The Public’s Report Card The Nation’s Schools

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - General Public - - - - - - - - - - - - - - A B C D F GPA

2007 4% 23% 44% 16% 5% 2.0

2006 5% 26% 44% 15% 5% 2.1

2005 3% 23% 46% 15% 4% 2.1

2004 2% 20% 47% 15% 4% 2.0

2003 2% 29% 47% 13% 2% 2.2

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2002 2% 14% 50% 21% 4% 1.9

2001 2% 18% 51% 16% 3% 2.0

Q.10

Grades for the Nation’s Schools Remain at ‘C’ Spring 2007

Education Stakeholders’ Report Card The Nation’s Schools

- - - - - - - K-12 Parents - - - - - 2007 2006 2005 2004 2001 A 4% 5% 4% 2% 8% B 25% 26% 27% 20% 35% C 43% 45% 46% 48% 33% D 16% 14% 12% 14% 13% F 4% 4% 2% 3% 4% GPA 2.1 2.1 2.2 2.0 2.3

Public school Public school teachers administrators

2007 4% 33% 41% 10% 1% 2.3

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2007 1% 41% 42% 4% 0% 2.4

Q.10

Grades for One’s Own School: Better – But Still Not Great Spring 2007

Public School Stakeholders’ Report Card My Children’s School/My School(s)

A B C D F GPA

Public school parents

Public school teachers

Public school administrators

26% 41% 21% 8% 3% 2.8

27% 52% 17% 2% 1% 3.0

32% 57% 8% 1% 0% 3.2

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Q.6, 8, 9

Public School Problems and Their Solutions One or two biggest reasons for public schools' problems One or two best changes to solve public schools' problems

General Public Lack of/need more parental involvement Lack of/need more classroom discipline Lack of funding/ increase funding Large class sizes/ reduce class sizes Low standards & expectations for students/raise standards & expectations Unmotivated teachers/ incentives to motivate teachers Too few/need more qualified teachers Lack of/need more challenging/ interesting schoolwork Lack of consistent measures of student learning/increase testing

39% 27% 26% 23%

18% 13% 13% 12% 13% 12% 10% 9%

21%

20%

8% 13% 2%

8%

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Q.11a,b

No Child Left Behind

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Public and Parents Are Divided on No Child Left Behind Attitudes toward No Child Left Behind Very favorable Somewhat favorable Very unfavorableSomewhat unfavorable 45%

38%

43% 41%

67%

48%

41% 43%

40% 24% 37%

19%

2005

21%

16%

23%

16%

24%

20%

2007

2006

General public 11 Confidential and Proprietary. Copyright © 2007 Educational Testing Service.

21%

K-12 parents

14%

Adults who took survey in Spanish

Q.13

Public and Parents Are Divided on No Child Left Behind Attitudes toward No Child Left Behind Very favorable Somewhat favorable Very unfavorableSomewhat unfavorable

General public, by party ID 51% 35%

48%

52%

35%

31%

34%

28%

17%

17%

13%

13% Q.13

Democrats

Independents 12

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Republicans

Teachers and Administrators Are Firmly Opposed to NCLB Attitudes toward No Child Left Behind 77%

Very favorable Somewhat favorable Very unfavorableSomewhat unfavorable 63%

33% 20%

49% 38%

Public school teachers

Public school administrators 13 Confidential and Proprietary. Copyright © 2007 Educational Testing Service.

Q.13

Public Lacks Knowledge of No Child Left Behind Know a great deal about NCLB Know a fair amount about NCLB Know nothing at all about NCLB Know just some about NCLB

54% 47%

45%

16%

52%

13%

General public

K-12 parents 14

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Q.14a

Many Unaware of National Education Reform Efforts Where do things stand today in terms of education reform at the national level in Washington, D.C.? General public 13%

Not sure There has been a lot of talk, but so far there has been no action.

28%

President/Congress each have put together proposals, but no agreement has been reached and no legislation has been passed.

13%

Education reform bill has been passed by Congress/signed into law by President Bush, but so far reforms have not led to any changes in the schools.

32%

Reforms are leading to changes in the schools.

14% 15

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Just 46% of adults (49% of K-12 parents) know NCLB reform is law. Q.12

Only Half Can Pick NCLB Out of a Lineup What does “No Child Left Behind” really mean to you? General public Setting standards for student learning, and testing students to ensure those standards are being achieved Making sure that students keep progressing on to the next grade level until they reach graduation

26%

Requiring all students to pass a national test in twelfth grade in order to graduate from high school and go on to college Giving parents vouchers so that their child can attend the school of their choice

47%

Right answer

12%

46% of adults (44% of K-12 parents) get it wrong. Q.14b

8% 16

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Support for NCLB Increases When Law Is Defined Attitudes toward No Child Left Behind Very favorable Somewhat favorable Very unfavorableSomewhat unfavorable

Uninformed 41% 43%

16%

24%

General public

48% 40%

20%

21%

K-12 parents

“The No Child Left Behind Act provides federal funds for school districts with poor children in order to close achievement gaps. It also requires states to set standards for education and to test students each year to determine whether the standards are being met by all students. In addition, No Child Left Behind provides funding to help teachers become highly qualified. It also provides addition-al funding and prescribes con-sequences to schools that fail to achieve academic targets set by their state.” 17 Confidential and Proprietary. Copyright © 2007 Educational Testing Service.

Informed 59%

56% 39%

22%

21%

General public Q.13,15

36%

27%

19%

K-12 parents

Support for Basic NCLB Provisions of Accountability and Funding General public Federal government should be involved in both funding and standards for accountability.

45%

Federal government should continue to provide funds to school districts with children from low-income families to help close gaps in student learning.

25%

Federal government should continue to make sure that high standards are set in order to ensure that school districts are being held accountable for student learning.

19%

Federal government should not be involved in either funding or standards for accountability.

9% 18

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Q.14b

NCLB Values: Federal Funding Should Be Tied to Accountability Standards

Public Rejects NCLB Opt-Out 58%

57%

Should standards and testing described by NCLB be required of all states that want federal money for education, or should states be able to opt out of the standards and testing and still get federal education money?

49% 43% 37%

34%

States should NOT be allowed to opt out. States should be allowed to opt out.

General public

Public school teachers Q.17a

19 Confidential and Proprietary. Copyright © 2007 Educational Testing Service.

Public school administrators

Public, Administrators and Teachers Want Reauthorization NCLB should be reauthorized with minor changes. NCLB should be reauthorized with major changes. NCLB should not be reauthorized. 58% 52% 45%

41%

36%

35%

26%

25% 16%

General public

22%

17%

13%

K-12 parents

Public school teachers

Public school administrators Q.16

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Public Supports National Standards Teachers/Administrators Disagree 59%

Currently, NCLB allows each state to develop its own standards and tests and use its own criteria to evaluate the test results:

56% 49% 43%

41%

35%

Should make NCLB more uniform by replacing 50 sets of standards and tests with one set of national standards and tests, so eighth-grade math is the same in Florida and Alaska Should keep system as is, because it gives federal government school accountability but lets states define academic goals in their state

General public

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Public school teachers Q.17b

Public school administrators

Concern That States Might Set Low Standards Teachers/Admin Trust State Leaders 57% Concerned that if federal government doesn't set standards for student learning, then some states will set low standards to ensure their schools succeed.

52%

48% 38%

51% 39%

37% 32%

We can expect the governors and state legislatures of all states to set high standards for student achievement.

General public

K-12 parents

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Public Public school school administrators teachers Q.18b

Concern About the Federal Government Role in Education Which concerns you more?

72%

63% Federal government will get too involved in education and interfere with issues better left to states and local communities

45% 40%

43%

45%

23%

Federal government will not be involved enough in doing what is necessary to improve our schools

General public 23

K-12 parents Q.18a

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19%

Public Public school school administrators teachers

Reasons Against Reauthorization Very convincingFairly convincing

Teachers pressured to teach to test, neglect broad knowledge of subject Testing emphasis distorts priorities, teachers focus on students in trouble, neglect others Burdens state to identify poor schools, but no solutions/funding Emphasis on NCLB test scores/ replace individualized assessments Testing new English speakers doesn’t measure learning, penalizes schools with lots of these students Education has always been state/ local responsibility; in some cases NCLB overruled state reforms NCLB tests may label

General public 53%

37%

52%

35%

46%

29%

45%

26%

39%

23%

37%

19%

33%

20% 24

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Q.21b

Public school teachers

Public school admin

80%

56%

78%

61%

74%

71%

66%

57%

74%

61%

52%

52%

58%

43%

Reasons for Reauthorization Very convincingFairly convincing NCLB testing identifies schools that need help with groups of students

General public

State standards are important step toward education excellence to compete in global economy NCLB tests useful to ensure students gets basics for promotion NCLB tests help public/leaders identify schools that need improving In reauthorization, NCLB could be improved with more assessments Give NCLB more time to see if it works, don’t reform every few years If not reauthorized, major setback for national

36%

62%

37%

61% 56%

36%

56%

33%

55%

32% 34%

52% 46%

27%

39%

22%

Q.21a 25

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53% among administrators Only reason a majority of teachers & admin find convincing

After the Arguments, Public Still Wants NCLB Reauthorized Teacher Opposition Grows But Remains Minority NCLB should be reauthorized with minor changes. NCLB should be reauthorized with major changes. NCLB should not be reauthorized 47%

43% 36%

46% 36%

17%

General public

56%

33% 22%

19%

22%

14%

K-12 parents

Public school teachers

Public school administrators Q.22

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What to Do About Poorly Performing Schools

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Views on Dealing With Poorly Performing Schools Public school teachers

Public school admin

63%

77%

71%

61%

37%

24%

21%

29%

16%

12%

26%

14%

1%

25%

9%

4%

20%

14%

4%

5%

General public who say each should happen in all/most cases when school performs poorly on NCLB tests Administrators required for several years 64%

to develop real change of plan More funding to hire teachers, lower class size, improve school Children able to get free tutoring from stateapproved provider

57% 50% 30% 28%

School day or year lengthened Children can transfer to another public school/free transportation Vouchers given for tuition at any public or private school School taken over/restructured with new administrators Do nothing: scores may

18% 12% 28

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Q.23

Public’s Views on Dealing With Poorly Performing Schools General public who say each should happen in all/most cases when school performs poorly on NCLB tests for several years General public who say each should happen in only some cases General public who say each should not happen in any cases 86% 72%

25% 40%

12% 24%

Many teachers lose jobs/be replaced by other teachers

School taken over/ restructured with new administrators 29

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Q.23

Public’s Views on Dealing With Poorly Performing Schools General public who say each should happen in all/most cases when school performs poorlyhappen on NCLB testssome for cases General public who say each should in only several years General public who say each should not happen in any cases 57% 41%

32% In all cases

12%

More funding to hire teachers, lower class size, improve school 30 Confidential and Proprietary. Copyright © 2007 Educational Testing Service.

Q.23

English-Language Learners

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Most Want Flexibility for English-Language Learners 77% We should be flexible when it comes to English language learners. By allowing these students sufficient time to become capable in English, we are helping build their confidence and giving them an essential skill needed to be competitive going forward, even if it means that these students may fall behind their peers somewhat in other skills such as math and science.

Strongly agree

67% 58%

36%

Somewhat agree

We should be firm when it comes to Englishlanguage learners. By allowing these students to take their time when learning English, we are leaving them at risk of being left permanently behind in other skills such as math and science with no clear way of getting them caught up to their peers, even if it means that these students may at times be uncomfortable because they cannot fully express themselves in English.

Strongly agree

77%

26%

20%

40%

34% 22%

51%

17% 8%

General public

Somewhat agree

Hispanics

Q.24 32 Confidential and Proprietary. Copyright © 2007 Educational Testing Service.

Public school teachers

53%

22%

13%

Public school admin

But Public Is Divided Over Their Test Scores Should English-language learners’ NCLB test scores be included in their school’s overall NCLB score?

85%

77%

Should be included

55% 48%

46%

43%

Should be excluded for one to two years Should be excluded for three/more years

18% 18%

50%

14%

48%

15%

General public

Hispanics

33

Public school teachers Q.25

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Public school admin

Conclusions:  Public Support for NCLB Reauthorization Must Be Earned.

♦ The public has lost focus. ♦ The words have become a slogan. ♦ But reintroduction and explanation will yield strong support. ♦ It’s viewed as a needed reform that reflects the public’s values.

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Conclusions:  Help for Struggling Schools ♦ The public, teachers and administrators want changes. ♦ Flexibility ♦ Solutions for poorly performing schools ♦ Give struggling schools the money they need.

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Conclusions:  NCLB Is Not an End But a Means. ♦ A building block to collect data needed for continued improvement. ♦ Focus on the challenges ahead. ♦ We must expect more of students, parents and schools. ♦ Our continued success in the face of global competition depends on it.

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Looking Beyond the Current Reauthorization Debate: Policymakers’ Views

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Policymakers Speak: NCLB — The Challenges and Changes Ahead “Version 3.0, which is down the road, will be where you start to see the big shift, whether it’s things like national standards or really new forward-looking ways to doing accountability.… Version 3.0, which is not the one we’re ready for yet, I think the big shift will be the one after this where we may be in a position to really go in a new direction.”

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Policymakers Speak: NCLB — The Challenges and Changes Ahead “The real challenge for us in the next ten years is to see how we can really help schools respond to the challenges that some of these reforms bring.… Support for schools to respond to those reforms, to respond to the demands that testing brings, to respond to the demands of teaching to one standard … to respond to the demands of closing the achievement gap and of what schools do once they find that pocket of students who are underperforming in their schools. That’s the real challenge.”

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Policymakers Speak: NCLB — The Challenges and Changes Ahead “I don’t think NCLB is going to solve it because NCLB is a national framework, but ultimately, you’ve got to take this issue state by state. Go to the leaders of the states, the business leaders, the education leaders and the political leaders in the state and say that we’ve got to look at what really are the rigors of the courses, how well are our students doing, and what’s the achievement level of our students that are measured by a national test.”

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Many Believe Status Quo Will Have a Negative Impact on America Soon If changes are not made to our education system, will it have a negative impact on America’s global competitiveness and strength of our economy? If so, how soon? 59%

General public

20% 15%

Won’t have negative impact

Negative, but more than 10 years out

5 to 10 years 23% 3 to 5 years 19% Withi n a year Negative 17%

impact within 10 years

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Q.26